adverbial N2 uncommon casualpolitewritten
僅か — only
僅か ・ わずか
Meaning
- only / a mere / slight — a strikingly small amount, number, or degree
Key sentence
開店まで残りわずか三日となった。
There are only three days left until the opening.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Number/amount (adverbial) or noun (な-adjective) | わずか + [number] / わずかな + N / わずかだ | わずかな望み |
Examples
わずか一年で日本語を習得した。
He mastered Japanese in just one year.
給料はわずかしか上がらなかった。
My salary went up only slightly.
Easily confused with
わずかに わずかに is the adverb form 'slightly / barely' modifying a verb or adjective (わずかに動く 'move slightly'); わずか directly quantifies a small number or amount ('a mere ~'). たった たった emphasizes how small a NUMBER is and always precedes a counter (たった一人 'just one person'); わずか covers small numbers, amounts, and degrees, and is more formal/written.
Notes
- Usually written in kana; the kanji 僅か is comparatively rare in everyday text.
See 僅か in real sentences
Jengo shows 僅か the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.